


Dress Rehersal

by WoodsOfBlight



Category: Rayman (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, cat fairy isn't used to being pretty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23046985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoodsOfBlight/pseuds/WoodsOfBlight
Summary: An old Teensie has a special gift for Ly.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Dress Rehersal

"Ly..."

She continued to glance back and forth along the corridor, just barely peeking out from behind the shadow of the door. If there was ever a time when her marked difference from most fairies came in handy, this was it. 

She may have lacked any wings, but the trade-off of having much keener senses compensated her nicely. Without a sound, she checked every little spot in her field of vision, making sure not a single soul would attempt to creep up on her.

"You’re being very silly right now." the slightly high-pitched voice of the Teensie behind her piped up, trying his best to usher her back inside the room.

"If only it were just that." Ly's voice was low as a whisper, her eyes still glued to every possible entrance and walkway nearby. "I cannot let anyone see me."

The little creature couldn't help but giggle at her brief bout of paranoia. It was rare to see her so out of her element.

"Why? You look very pretty."

The fairy finally leaned back in and closed the door behind her. By the time she turned around, her face was all but bathing in crimson.

"That's the problem, actually." she said, her ears low from the anxious drive to hide. "If any of the Council fairies were to see me, I'd never hear the end of it."

She wasn't exactly wrong. While her current clothes weren't entirely unlike her usual attire, they were a great deal more elaborate. Whether it was the elbow gloves, the snug leggings, the carefully folded and shaped dress flowing straight past her waist, there was a lot to admire and even more to envy. Ly was used to seeing both from other fairies, but rarely would those emotions be directed at her in any way. Part of her was indeed amazed by the wonderful craftsmanship of the Teensies, even if she normally didn't really experiment beyond her usual, form-fitting suits. They looked most certainly plain by comparison.

The Teensie just started chuckling, which only managed to make her blush even more.

"Well, too bad for them." he said finally, setting down all the little needles and tape-measures he had been using until now. Despite being tiny by comparison, his kind was in no shortage of tools. "Between you, some high-ranking fairies and all the regular Teensie stuff, I'm booked year-round. Yours was a special exception, too."

With a little effort, he pushed the large, thankfully wheel-driven mirror over to face Ly, letting her examine herself properly this time. Her blush was there to say, especially as she contemplated just how different these clothes were from her usual set, and yet how undeniably appealing they were. They were elegant, but not to the point of restricting her movement in any way. It even seemed fitted to accommodate her bushy tail, something she rarely found in regular fairy clothes.

"I really..." she began, but her words faltered as she took in the sight. Part of her wanted to touch the mirror, unsure whether the reflection really did show her, or some other distant relative. "...it's beautiful."

"Job well done then?" the Teensie spoke up, bringing her right out of her stupor. It was almost amusing to see such a small being swelling up with so much pride, but there was no denying it. He had earned the praise and then some.

"Yes! I just... I don't know what to say." Ly said, brushing a couple unruly locks behind her ear. She had never considered elegance an important factor in her general appearance, much too used to investing in practicality instead.

"Works for me!" he remarked, hopping back to cut a tiny, errant strand hanging off the leggings. He was doing laps around her, making sure to eliminate any little imperfections. "Just point, if you need adjustments."

"In that case, could you take it in a little bit? Up here."

He glanced up to see she did exactly as told, pointing towards herself. Without another word, he jumped back to his little chair, itself a marvel of Teensie engineering. A careful pull on the attached lever activated the machinery, letting the chair rise far beyond what any regular member of his kind could reach. Reaching the designated stop at her back, he quickly got to work, adjusting the clothes to the fairy's liking. He couldn't stifle a small chuckle though.

"Oh, how things change." he mused. "I usually have to loosen this part."

"Very funny." came the dry reply, spoken as if Ly had been munching on gravel these past several minutes.

A couple more finishing touches later, she slowly turned around, examining herself from every angle once more. The blush was mostly gone and in its place was a bright, albeit slightly bemused smile. As she faced the Teensie dressmaker, he took off his hat and bowed a little, which only made it her even giddier. She returned gesture and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

He smiled under his large nose. Seeing her so happy was always a very pleasant sight, if somewhat rare within Council walls.

"Every fairy needs some nice clothes. Though I can't recommend wearing it out in the Glade."

"Oh no, of course not. I wouldn't want to ruin them." she said, straightening the dress portion out of a quickly growing habit.

The Teensie nodded and reached for the lever, only to notice a brief shadow on her face. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, more than ready for some additional fine-tuning, if needed.

"You've been exceedingly kind to me." she said. "You and every Teensie I've ever met. I just don't think I des-"

The little hand raised stopped her mid-sentence.

"Don't even start." the little being said, looking about as serious as he could muster, which admittedly wasn't much. "There's no special reason. Does there need to be one?"

"I... guess not."

"Then don't look for one." he shrugged, extending his arms in a rather theatrical fashion. "We just like you a lot, that's all there is to it."

Even Ly had to raise a brow at that, for a moment.

"Alright, I'll admit, the Palace was a bit of an overkill." he said, sounding rather amusement. "I stand by the sculpture though, you have to appreciate good craftsmanship."

"I cannot deny that." she giggled. "And I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. I cherish all of your gifts, they're just... I'm just one fairy. I'm not even important."

"You are to us." he said, gazing at her with those small and spry, yet sometimes very ancient eyes. "Without you, we never would have beaten the Pirates."

"That wasn't on me. That was Rayman." she deflected, rubbing her elbows.

"And he'd be the first to say otherwise." he countered right away. "You've put your life on the line so many times, for him and for all of us. Especially with the Heart in shambles."

Ly didn't quite have a reply to that. There were so many things she had done wrong in the heat of things during the invasion, that resulted in people getting capture or injured. Rayman was there to help fix things, but still so many of the mistakes were hers alone to bear. She flinched as his small hands grabbed her, dragging her out of the less-than-pleasant memories.

"Teensies live for a very long time, longer than fairies, or even the nymphs. Some could probably boast they remember seeing Betilla as just a petulant child." he mused. The thought was amusing, if somewhat hard to picture.

"But there's also a lot we forget over so many years. So we make things, clothes, tools, books, paintings, anything you can think of. Even if we forget who it's about or why it's there, we'll always know that at some point, this person or event was so important to us that we felt the need to create that memory. And you're not someone any of us would want to forget, Ly."

The previous lip bite was back once more, along with the blush. The Teensie took one quick look at her face and reeled back, pointing in an accusatory fashion.

"Oh no, don't you dare start crying on me! Tears leave stains, you know!"

Instead, the fairy burst out in laughter. So much so, that if anyone happened to walk by the room, they surely would have peeked in, just to see what was so funny. It did the trick though, as the brief emotional moment collapsed on itself. By the time Ly managed to stop, she was back to normal and with a smile that was so much more honest, than before.

"Thank you." she said once more. In just a few minutes, she seemed to have grown much more comfortable with her new clothes, than before. "For this and for everything. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you, if anyone asks."

"Please do." he said. "It'll let me pretend I forgot the first half of my contract list, so I can work on new things. We've got enough Teensie coats as it is."

They shared a laugh as he pulled on the lever and descended back to ground level. Once all his tools found their way back in the bag, he turned towards the door, intending to let the fairy revel in her elegance in peace for a bit.

"Thank you, once more." she spoke up, just as he opened the door. "But one more question, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Ly." he nodded. "Ask away."

"Why did you forgo the crown?"

He turned back from the door, glancing at her again. The light from the corridor gave the fairy's clothes a soft, but noticeable glow, while also casting a soft shade on her face. For a brief moment, he could almost see a faint vision; a hauntingly beautiful regal figure, with a soft smile and a compassionate, but sharp gaze. One, whose mere presence could inspire a flock of artisans. The illusion vanished as quickly as it came, leaving behind just Ly, exactly as she was before. The smile on his face grew far more knowing, than she could imagine.

"It just wasn't very comfortable. Terribly balanced and way too big. Not to mention the throne is rubbish, the others just won't admit it."

He winked at her with those same timeless eyes as before. They hinted at so much more experience than one would assume from such a tiny being. Perhaps more, than she could ever discover in a single lifetime.

"And sometimes you just need a different set of clothes."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Visit my Tumblr, @woodsofblight, for more!


End file.
